


Forgive Us Now (For What We've Done)

by joidianne4eva



Category: Hellboy (Movies)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-04-11
Updated: 2017-09-09
Packaged: 2018-01-18 23:58:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 13,098
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1447768
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/joidianne4eva/pseuds/joidianne4eva
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>John Myers was human; he was normal and the exact opposite of unique. It was why he hadn’t lasted with the BPRD ….or Liz for that matter. What did he have to offer any of them that someone else couldn’t? It was a question he couldn’t answer, so he’d taken the transfer to Antarctica when the request had come in and he hadn’t looked back once.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to Cougars_Catnip for the read through (ages ago). 
> 
> This isn't finished and I'm working on it extremely slowly.
> 
> The title is stolen from O' Children - Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds

John Myers was human; he was normal and the exact opposite of unique. It was why he hadn’t lasted with the BPRD ….or Liz for that matter. What did he have to offer any of them that someone else couldn’t? It was a question he couldn’t answer, so he’d taken the transfer to Antarctica when the request had come in and he hadn’t looked back once.

Every part of his life from _before_ was locked neatly in a mental box marked ‘Do Not Touch’, everything…the fights with Hellboy, the scent of Liz’s perfume, all of it was shut away when he assumed the job of bodyguard for the hundreds of civilians and scientists that worked at the Antarctica base.

He wished that he could ignore the dreams just as easily as he could ignore the heavy weight of his failure.

They had started a few days after he’d moved into the BPRD and at first John had thought that they were simply a result of his _unusual_ circumstances. But the dreams were never violent, they never featured monsters that wanted to feast on his flesh….No, the dreams always revolved around two things: his mother and the strange garden.

Sometimes the dreams seemed so real that John thought he could reach out and touch his mother’s hand as she planted another flower. The sound of her hums usually followed him into the waking world and after his move to Antarctica the motivation to wake from the dreams began to wane.

\------------

John twirled his pencil around his fingers as he sat in the mess hall, glaring down at the report in front of him. He hadn’t wanted to lead a team but the Director had decided that if John had been able to keep up with Hellboy then he was the perfect person to lead the men and women that called the base their home. It had been a stupid decision and now John had to explain why he’d brought back two of his men in body bags because a scientist had touched the wrong thing at the wrong time and they’d ended up impaled by a centuries old booby-trap.

Sighing, John rubbed his temple where a migraine had been throbbing since the moment he watched Jack and Sarah die in front of him. John treated his team like family because in his mind that was what they’d been and their loss tugged at his heart in a way that he could only remember feeling once when he’d watched his Uncle die. At least the man had been in a hospital, drugged up to the gills and unable to feel the pain of his body shutting down….Jack and Sarah hadn’t had that mercy.

Pressing his forehead against his palm John let his eyes close, the night before the dreams had been erratic. The vines of the plants that surrounded his mother’s garden had waved as if they were warding him away when the dream began to bleed into reality, the gentle white petals of their flowers drifting to the ground and at the last moment John could have sworn that his mother looked his way as she faded.

He could still hear the song she’d been humming in his head and it had grown louder as he cradled Sarah’s broken body, heedless of the blood soaking his uniform as he watched a medic work on Jack…..

_Ashes, ashes, we all fall down._

The scrapping of a chair across from him made John glance up just as Mitchell, one of the scientists that had been in the group, dropped into the chair across from him.

“I’m sorry about today,” Mitchell murmured but John just waved him off.

“It wasn’t your fault.” he responded, meeting the man’s eyes until Mitchell’s frown turned into a small smile.

“So who’s the lucky lady?” the scientist asked and John cocked a brow. His confusion must have been evident because Mitchell waved towards him, “It can’t have been easy for someone to get a flower like that in this place. If that isn’t a declaration of interest then I don’t know what is!”

Growing more confused with each of Mitchell’s words, John let his eyes drop to where the scientist was gesturing, only to have them widen as he caught sight of the white rose in his hand….where only seconds before he’d been holding a pencil.

\-----------

John’s mother’s name had been Mary….or at least he thought her name was Mary. It was strange but the longer that the dreams went on the harder it was for him to separate them from everything else.

Blinking he refocused on the path ahead of him. Today he was leading the scientists towards one of the many caves that littered the white expanse that surrounded the base. But he couldn’t seem to keep his mind on anything but the odd fact that he’d forgotten his own mother’s name.

He was sure it had been Mary….like the song. _Mary, Mary, quite contrary, how does your garden grow?_

The name Mary fit because everything his mother had laid her hands on had grown…like the garden that haunted his dreams and while he may have forgotten her name, he hadn’t forgotten her smile or the sound of her voice as she hummed while she planted more flowers making the earth blossom. He hadn’t forgotten the way the flowers would stretch upwards, growing from the tiny seeds, leafs spread wide like they were trying to hug the sun….or maybe they’d been trying to touch John’s mother. He just wasn’t sure anymore.

Ahead of them the cave rose up out of the ice, its mouth a dark, gaping wound against the white that surrounded it.

“That’s it!” Mitchell called back to them, his voice soft with awe.

Apparently the readings that they’d gotten from the cave had sent the scientists into a tizzy but John wasn’t bothered as long as whatever the hell they were detecting didn’t come with teeth or a taste for human flesh.

The young soldier at Mitchell’s side glanced at John curiously. “Sir, what was that you were just humming?” he asked and John had to blink twice before he could remember the man’s name….Joshua.

“It ain’t a song,” Matthew, one of the other members of John’s teams cut in. “It’s that old poem ‘bout Miss Mary.”

Joshua grinned. “I thought it sounded familiar. My mom used to love that poem!”

John exhaled, glancing at the cave as the poem whirled in his head. “I think my mom liked it too.” he responded as he set off.

Behind him his men exchanged confused glances but John missed them, focused on the cave and the sound of humming that only he could hear.

\--------------

The cave was even bigger on the inside and the thought made a hysterical giggle bubble in John’s chest but he quickly tamped it down, he didn’t need other people questioning his sanity not when he wasn’t so sure about it himself.

Glancing around he couldn’t help the small smile that curled his lips at the sight before him. The cave was glowing a light green, bright enough to make their flashlight obsolete and every step he took made the hum in his head grow louder.

“Ok, I really don’t think we should be here….” Joshua whispered and John finally noticed that both his team and the scientists that they were protecting had been silent ever since they stepped foot into the cave. “And I’m not saying that I don’t have bad feelings about most of the places that we go because self-preservation and all that, but I have a really bad feeling about this place.”

John was just turning to tell Joshua to knock it off because the last thing he needed was a group of panicking scientists on his hands when something caught his eye.

It was a glimmer of white shining softly from within the ice of the cave walls and John was moving before he could question himself, his fingers reaching out as the humming grew to a buzz in his head like whatever was on the other side of the wall wanted him to see it, wanted him to touch it and he couldn’t turn away.

The second that his fingers touched the ice, the world seemed to slow as the wall cracked beneath his hand. The glimmer of white growing brighter and brighter until it was all that John could see…then there was nothing.

\----------

Nuada paused in his training as something that he hadn’t felt in centuries brushed against his mind. Turning he glanced at the small pod where he kept the elemental that he’d rescued from the wars, the last one and only a child at that. Yet for a split second it had felt like there was another…just as young if the force behind its call was anything to go by and Nuada frowned.

While all elves had some talent for plants, the bond to an elemental was a calling that only Nuada possessed. King Balor had encouraged him to nurture his gift and Nuada had, spending as much time with the elementals that littered their realms as he had with his fellow elves…until the war.

He had watched as man burned the forests where the elementals lived, the fire a dark and twisted thing from which they could not flee…nor did they try as they curled around each other, protecting their young, protecting the elf children. When it was all over, after Nuada had turned his back on his father and sister in anger, he had found only one seed still alive. He’d dug it from beneath the ash and burnt wood and he’d kept it with him ever since.

But now it seemed that there was another and Nuada could not turn his back on the seedling. His plans to reclaim the part of the crown that his father kept would have to wait.

With that thought in mind Nuada retracted his lance and began to dress. He would need to find the seedling before it was stumbled upon.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The seed did not understand what was happening. It had been ripped from its mother and placed with the others as the elf children sat crying all around them.
> 
> Beyond the mass of roots the seed could sense the other creatures that lived in the forest trying to hold the men at bay but nothing they did was enough and they were overrun. Even the elves who had called the land their own was forced back and the seed trembled as the men gained on them.

The world bled green as John fell through the once solid, wall of ice. The humming was so loud now that it was the only thing he could hear and he let the waves of sound pull him under as images flickered through his mind.

**_The fire burned hotter and hotter, licking at the roots of the elementals who were huddled around the seedlings. But even as their screams echoed through the forest they held strong, vines tangled around each other, forming a barrier between the fire and the children that they protected._ **

**_The seed did not understand what was happening. It had been ripped from its mother and placed with the others as the elf children sat crying all around them._ **

**_Beyond the mass of roots the seed could sense the other creatures that lived in the forest trying to hold the men at bay but nothing they did was enough and they were overrun. Even the elves who had called the land their own was forced back and the seed trembled as the men gained on them._ **

**_Then everything stopped as the sounds of creaking echoed through the forest. The pounding of heavy feet came next and the seed wobbled as it tried to see but the older elementals did not move. They were silent and still even after the screams came and the elf children began to cry louder and louder until the seed could hear nothing but the sound of misery as the scent of blood wafted through the air._ **

**_Wriggling, the seed made its way across the blackened ground, past the bodies of the burnt seedlings until it reached its mother but when it hopped onto her root she didn’t react and the scent of death was strong on her trunk._ **

**_The seed had never felt sorrow before and it did not know what to do with the heavy feeling that settled over it._ **

**_The sound of footsteps approaching made it start; bouncing once it burrowed beneath its mother’s roots and watched as an elf made his way into the circle._ **

**_The elf children hurried towards him and the elf waved them towards the opening that he’d created, watching as they ran through it. Then he turned back to the clump of burnt seeds and seedlings, his eyes hard as he reached into their midst and plucked out the single living seed that remained amongst the bodies of the dead._ **

**_Pressing his lips to the seed the elf whispered something before turning and striding off._ **

**_Never once noticing the seed that he had left behind._ **

***O***

“Mr Wink,” Nuada greeted, watching as the troll that had served as his companion for the many years that he dwelt within the human realm ambled into the cavern. “It seems that our plan will not be able to progress as I once thought.”

The troll grunted, the sound rife with confusion but Nuada just waved him off.

“There is something that I need to see to first but that does not mean that we will not be going after the final piece of the crown and the map. Our plans will be delayed not stopped,” the prince explained, replacing his spear in its sheath on his back. “While I am gone I will need you to guard this place. If you believe yourself up to the task, that is,” he finished.

Mr Wink growled at that and Nuada’s lips curled into a small smile.

“I am not questioning your loyalty, my friend but it will be a difficult task as I do not know when I will return.”

The cave troll snorted, stomping his way over to the ledge that was his favourite place to rest while Nuada trained. Lowering himself he crossed his arms, shooting Nuada a look that said exactly how difficult he thought his supposed task would be.

Nuada inclined his head in understanding. “If you are certain then I will take my leave,” he stated, turning from the troll and heading into the dark pathway that would lead him to the land that the elementals had once called home.

*O*

John’s eyes fluttered open, focusing on the bright blue sky above him. Something tickled his ear and John reached out, swiping a hand at the disturbance only to start when his fingers brushed against something that squeaked as it tumbled away.

Blinking he turned his head, only to come face to face with what appeared to be a tiny person…a tiny person who was dressed in leaves. The little man’s bright green hair blended in with his clothing and when he noticed John looking he squeaked again, little arms pumping madly as he began to jabber at the agent.

John frowned, his mind still cloudy as he tried to make sense of the creature’s words and the simple fact that the appearance of something that was so clearly not human didn’t set off bells in his head probably meant he was still asleep….he’d most likely be waking up any minute now.

“What?” he murmured finally and the creature squealed, tugging at its hair before taking a step closer.

“You is el-em-en-tal,” it repeated slowly like John was the odd one here, even though he was running around dressed like a plant.

“No,” John responded, equally slow. “I’m a human. I don’t know what an elemental is but I’m fairly sure that it isn’t me.”

The creature snorted. “You come through door that is no door. You is elemental,” it replied and John could hear the implied _idiot_ tacked onto the end of its sentence.

John glared at the thing before pushing himself up onto his elbows, a move that his body protested and he found himself flat on his back as a terrible pounding started up in his head. His clothes shifted and a moment later the creature scrambled across his chest.

“No move, elemental…you no move!” it demanded, waving its leaf covered arms. “Hurt head, we fix. Hurt heart, we fix. Should come soon, old ones die long time and you no come.”

John’s vision blurred as the things ranting continued but as the darkness started to seep in he could feel fingers pressed against his cheek, much too large to have belonged to the creature currently standing on his chest and as he gave in to the siren’s song of unconsciousness a soft whisper reached his ears.

“Sleep, John…sleep and remember.”

*O*

**_It was many centuries before the seed finally dug itself from its hole beneath its mother’s roots. The land had changed and where only ash had once been there was grass as lush and green as it had been before the wars but that didn’t change the fact that the seed was alone._ **

**_Hopping away from the rotting bodies of the ones that it had once called family, the seed made its way across the land._ **

**_Finally it happened upon man and the fear that the sight of creature struck made it retreat, burrowing into the soft dirt that welcomed it as it sought refuge._ **

**_From its spot it watched the strange man but this creature was not clothed in armour as the others had been when they slayed so many of the seed’s kind._ **

**_This man wore its hair like the elves, long and gleaming a deep brown that reminded the seed of its mother’s trunk. The not-man was much smaller than the warriors that the seed had seen and the scent of sorrow that followed the not-man drew the seed from its hole._ **

**_Every day the not-man would come into the clearing, a hand pressed against its stomach as it stared at a dark stone that held man’s scribbles upon its surface. As the seed watched water would leak from the not-man’s face and each time the seed would hobble a little closer because there was something barren within the not-man that called to it._ **

**_Then the day came when the not-man fell asleep within the clearing unaware of its watcher and the seed hopped until it was close to the odd creature. Pressing itself against the not-man the seed finally gleamed what had happened from the creature’s memories. The not-man had been a mother but its seedling had not lived. It was why the not-man came to this place, it had placed its seedling beneath the earth….the seed did not understand why. Perhaps the not-man thought the seedling would grow again?_ **

**_The not-man stirred at the moment and the seed leapt away, quickly returning to the soil from where it could safely think of what it had learned_ **

*O*

Nuada paused in his journey as the call of the elemental child grew so shrill that it made his ears ring. The call wasn’t one of pain though, if anything the little one sounded disgruntled and unsure of something. Nuada’s lips quirked into a slow smile as he traced his fingers through the air, touching the lines of energy that connected him to the child, the more the little elemental reached out, the stronger the bond between them grew and the easier it would be for the prince to track the child.

He remembered well the confusion that came with a seedling’s first glimpse of the world and more often than not he’d been left to guide the little ones….that is until the war wiped them all out.

The smile slid from the prince’s face leaving a snarl in its place as Nuada’s mind drifted back to the scent of burning flesh and wood. The sight of hundreds of dead elementals curled around his people’s children and their own was burned into his memory as was the taste of bile that rose in his throat when his father let those creatures, those _murderers_ simply walk free with nothing but a few words scribbled on paper to ensure that they would never attack the elves again. The treaty had done little to save the elementals, it had done little to save the elves because even if his father wasn’t willing to see it, they were dying and soon man would gain what they had coveted for so long…the earth.

Snorting Nuada glanced towards the sun, his eyes falling half shut as the glare of the star burned his pale skin. The humans would never rule the earth, not when he had the power to make sure that they were reduced to nothing but dust beneath the boots of the Golden Army.

*O*

**_The not-man had returned and this time the seedling was aware of what it needed to do. The not-man was like mother so perhaps if the seedling went inside it then it could grow and the not-man could be its mother?_ **

**_The seedling wasn’t certain that this was how things worked but mother had told it that to grow it needed to be planted and mother would want the not-man to have a seedling of its own, it was sure of that._ **

**_The not-man was lying on the ground again when the seedling decided to make its move. Hopping from its hiding place the seedling caught the wind letting the gentle breeze blow it closer to the not-man’s face._ **

**_It landed softly on the not-man’s face and rolled towards the first sense of water that it could feel. The moisture clung to the open place that the elves had called mouths and the seedling rolled inside._ **

**_The not-man shook as the seedling fell further into its body and some distant instinct told it to latch on to the moisture here and grow but that was not what it wanted to do. If it grew the not-man would die like mother and if the not-man was dead then the seedling wouldn’t have a mother._ **

**_Curling in on itself as it fell even deeper the seedling trembled. Finally something seemed to call to it and the seedling pushed through the soft things around it until it could find the place that was as barren as the place where it had left the bodies of mother and the other dead seedlings. Clutching at the moisture around it, the seedling clothed itself in warmth, pushing the power that it kept for its own growth outwards and waited as the not-man’s body changed around it._ **

**_Finally when the not-man’s body stopped changing the seedling let sleep pull it under and it waited._ **


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “I thought you said the Grove was a graveyard,” John reminded the imp, his eyes flickering to a branch that seemed to have shifted but that was impossible because there wasn’t the slightest breeze in this place.
> 
> “The old spirits, they no leave,” Itsy explained. “They watch the Grove, keep it safe.”
> 
> John nodded in understanding. So not only had he fallen into some sort of Wonderland now he was learning that his Wonderland had teeth. “If they’re just watching the Grove then they won’t have any reason to come after us,” John told the imp but Itsy just shook his head.
> 
> “We’s alive. That is reason,” the little man responded.
> 
> “I was scared you were going to say something like that,” John sighed

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry for the delay, I had this story on the back burner but I've started writing again! Still unbeta'd!

John gasped awake, his breath shuddering from his chest as the remnants of his dream followed him into the waking world. It had seemed real…almost too real and the woman’s face, the thing that the seed called not-mother, she’d looked exactly like the memories that John still held of his own mother but that couldn’t be possible. Just the clothing that the woman wore meant that she’d probably lived in an era that existed centuries before John’s own birth. It didn’t make sense but then again things had stopped making sense ever since he joined the BPD.

Pushing himself up into a sitting position John winced when his headache returned with a vengeance.

“You is awake but head not healed,”

The petulant voice made John turn, slowly as not to aggravate the pounding in his head. There seated on a flower was the little creature that he’d seen before he lost consciousness. The thing was eying him but John couldn’t sense any hostility from the creature so he pasted on his best smile despite the pain of his headache. He’d learned early on that sometimes a smile and a soothing word were the only things that kept most of these creatures from unleashing their wrath on the humans around them and despite the creature’s size, John wasn’t about to underestimate it.

“Hello,” he started, pausing to clear his throat. “My name is John….”

“Itsy know who you are,” the creature….Itsy scoffed as he rose to his feet, brushing off his pants before facing John again. “The old ones all gone but Itsy wait here because he see when John go into human. Stupid little seedling, human use mouth to eat not make baby. Itsy would tell John so but little John he no have ears, no listen to Itsy even though Itsy shout very loud and get in trouble for it.”

John blinked slowly…..”I don’t….you know me?” he asked in confusion and Itsy nodded.

“The war, it kill so many. We hid in ground until it stop then the council send scouts out. Itsy no scout but Itsy want to see and Itsy found John!” Itsy exclaimed, glancing off into the distance. “Scouts go back but Itsy wait here even after they all leave because Itsy knew John would come back because John human mother promised.”

John was getting more confused with each of Itsy’s words and his headache was coming back with a vengeance. Shaking his head in an effort to get rid of the buzzing in his ear John tried to refocus on the creature, only to find the flower that Itsy had been on empty. A second later something tugged at his shirt and John flinched as Itsy scrabbled onto his shoulder. The little man ignored his expression as he pressed his hands to John’s face and a wave of cold spread from Itsy’s skin, flowing up through John’s jaw, obliterating the pain as it went until his headache was nothing but an unpleasant memory.

“Itsy fix,” the creature proclaimed as it moved its hands from John’s face. “Head hurt no more?”

John nodded, reaching up to catch Itsy when the move unbalanced the little man. Itsy grasped his thumb using it to balance himself while he watched John.

“Yeah, my headache’s gone now, thanks,” the agent responded.

Itsy grinned, pressing himself against John’s thumb. “Itsy good imp. We help elementals but they all gone now but Itsy have John, Itsy help John like he promised.”

“Uh you don’t have to…..” John started before frowning because he probably _would_ need Itsy’s help if he was going to get out of here….wherever here was. Refocusing on the imp John wiped the frown from his face. “Look you said that I came in through a door that wasn’t a door but you didn’t say anything about getting back out.”

“John need to wait for Prince,” Itsy explained as he lowered himself into a cross-legged position on John’s palm. “Itsy wait for Prince too but wait for John more. Prince no come but now John here…..” the imp trailed off with a shrug.

“So we can’t get out without this Prince guy?” John guessed.

Itsy wrinkled his nose at him. “No Prince Guy, Prince Nuada. We wait for him in Grove.”

“Okay…..” John started, trying to gather his thoughts. Talking to Itsy was like interrogating a two year old. “So I have to wait for this Prince Nuada if I want to get out of here and he’ll come to a grove?” he summarised.

Itsy nodded. “John call out, Prince will hear and come to Grove.”

“What Grove?” john asked, ignoring the part about him calling out because he was pretty sure that if he asked for an explanation he was going to end up with another headache.

“Grove of Elementals…..where they sleep now.” Itsy responded, his tone somber in a way that John hadn’t heard before.

“I thought you said they were all dead.”

Itsy glanced up at him, large eyes glistening with unshed tears. “They is, they sleep forever in grove,” he responded and John couldn’t prevent the shiver that the imp’s words evoked but he pushed it aside because if he wanted to get out of this place he had to find the Grove or risk missing this Nuada guy.

“Itsy, do you know the way to the Grove?” he inquired softly and the imp nodded.

“Itsy know, Itsy show John….” he answered, tugging at his sleeves. “But John no go in Grove. Bad, dark place, only Prince go there.” Itsy told him.

John pasted on his most reassuring smile. “I just want to see it, Itsy. I won’t go in there,” he promised aloud, silently adding the clause that he wouldn’t go in there unless he had to.

Itsy eyed him suspiciously and for a second John wondered if the creature could read minds but finally Itsy glanced away. “John will go. They call to you and you go,” Itsy muttered to himself, hugging his own waist as he rocked in John’s palm.

“Who’ll call for me?” John asked but Itsy just shook his head.

“Itsy show the way, Itsy _only_ show the way.” the imp muttered as it leapt from John’s hand clambering up onto his shoulder. “If John listen to the call then Prince will help.”

John opened his mouth to ask what the hell the imp was talking about but Itsy didn’t give him a chance.

“We go east now John, go east to Grove,” he ordered and John sighed, rising to his feet. He’d seen Red take directions from a rotting corpse, he was pretty sure that taking directions from an imp couldn’t be worse than that. With the thought in mind, he made sure that Itsy was secure before turning east. Whatever was out there, he’d deal with it but for now he just wanted to get the both of them to the Grove so that he could find his way home.

As John strode away the ground where he’d been laying seemed to shift as if something was forcing its way to the surface and if the agent had looked back he would have seen the tiny vines that seemed to outline where his body had rested. But John didn’t look back and the vines remained unnoticed as the agent and his companion vanished from sight.

\---------------------------

Nuada stepped through the veil that separated what remained of their world from the human’s. Once both realms had occupied the same space but the treaty’s magic had ripped them apart, creating an invisible barrier that left their old world untouched.

The land that sprawled before him was nothing like it had once been. Though the plants had retaken what they’d once called their own the land still stunk of decay and pain. The forests that once rung with the song of the elementals were now quiet and it helped remind Nuada that this place wasn’t theirs anymore. Now it was little more than a graveyard where the spirits of the dead lingered, desperate to escape the pain of their final moments but unable to move on.

In his travels he’d heard how healer after healer had tried to send the spirits away so that the land could be used as a sanctuary of sorts but each attempt had failed. The things created from the pain and horror of their deaths no longer held loyalty to the elves and they did what they wanted lashing out at elf and human alike.

In the end the living creatures that remained there had to be relocated and the most dangerous spirits were kept locked in the Grove.

Nuada had visited the place once and his heart wept as he stared at the immortalized bodies of the elementals he’d once called friends. Even in their death they were still protecting his people and he couldn’t understand how his father could leave them like this, with no vengeance to call their own. But they would have their vengeance Nuada would see to it.

It would not be today because for now he needed to secure this new elemental child before he could move forward with his plans.

Nuada paused and glanced around. The child must have hidden from him after the war and Nuada couldn’t fault the seedling because he could not imagine the fear that it must have felt being surrounded by its dying kin. It was something that no child should have to live through and the fact that the little one had been alone for all this time made Nuada feel like a failure.

He’d let his rage cloud the bond that he shared with the elementals and because of it he’d managed to overlook one of the only things still worth protecting. The thought made him wince with guilt but it wasn’t too late for him to fix the problem.

Even if the child _had_ hidden from him Nuada had little doubt that the seedling would return to the Grove. After all it was the first place that the seedling had called home and everyone wanted to return home.

Nodding to himself Nuada turned away from the quiet trees and made his way towards the Grove. Even if the child wasn’t there now he would be able to track the little one using the energy that its people had left behind.

\---------------

John always knew when he was being watched. It went beyond the normal sixth sense that most people possessed and it was the reason why he’d managed to stay alive long enough to join the BPRD. His unusual ability often let him know not only that he was being observed but also the direction that he was being observed from and now as he made his way deeper into the trees, following Itsy’s guidance, John felt like every branch he passed concealed a new set of hidden eyes that watched their passage keenly.

“Is bad place, this,” Itsy whispered and John glanced at the imp who was seated on his shoulder.

Itsy’s face was drawn, his eyes flittering from tree to tree and his little brows were furrowed. The imp’s expression was pretty much an outward display of what John was feeling.  

“I thought you said the Grove was a graveyard,” John reminded the imp, his eyes flickering to a branch that seemed to have shifted but that was impossible because there wasn’t the slightest breeze in this place.

“The old spirits, they no leave,” Itsy explained. “They watch the Grove, keep it safe.”

John nodded in understanding. So not only had he fallen into some sort of Wonderland now he was learning that his Wonderland had teeth. “If they’re just watching the Grove then they won’t have any reason to come after us,” John told the imp but Itsy just shook his head.

“We’s alive. That is reason,” the little man responded.

“I was scared you were going to say something like that,” John sighed, his gaze shifting to the overhead canopy of leaves and branches. “Well the faster we get to the Grove, the faster we can find this Prince of yours and leave this place.”

Itsy didn’t respond to the words but something rattle the branch of the tree closest to them and John winced when the imp’s nails dug into his skin. “Walk faster, no more talking,” Itsy ordered and John didn’t respond as he lengthened his stride.

The deeper into the forest they went, the harder it became to move amongst the trees. John frowned as he stepped over a fallen log that he swore hadn’t been there a second before. It was almost as if the forest itself was trying to box them in and the thought made John’s frown turn into an outright scowl.

He wouldn’t have been here in the first place if it hadn’t been for Hellboy’s jealousy. He should have resigned his commission when he’d heard about the transfer but foolishly he’d thought he could make the best of it.

Itsy yelped as a branch lashed out, scrapping John’s cheek hard enough to draw blood.

“Bad, bad, bad!” The imp admonished as it pushed away the fingers that John had instinctively brought up to touch the cut but the creature didn’t seem to be angry at John. Instead he glared out at the forest around them, the hand that he wasn’t still using to grip John’s shirt, red with his blood. “Is one of you, John elemental!” he shouted, flashing his hand and John watched as droplets of blood flew from his fingers to splatter against the branch of the closest tree. Then like something out of a fairy-tale the trees parted, their roots slithering out of the ground as they shifted out of the way and John gaped at the sight.

“What the hell just happened?” John whispered.

Itsy grinned at him, holding up his still bloody palm. “Blood no lie. They know you John, they wait for you now.”

John wrinkled his nose as he wiped away the blood he could still feel dripping down his face. “At this point I don’t know if that’s good new or bad news,” he grimaced as he glanced behind him only to find that the way that they had come was now lost to the forest. Sighing he turned back to the path that the trees had made. There was only one way to go now it seemed…..he just hoped that he wasn’t walking straight into a trap.

\----------------

John had seen the trees move before but feeling them touch him and knowing it was intentional was sending chills down his spine. Leaves brushed against his face in a soft caress that felt so familiar that John found himself blinking back tears. Vines fell from the canopy pulling at his clothing as if they were urging him forward, hurrying him towards the end of his journey. The fact that John knew where they wanted him to go made the whole experience even more surreal.

“They is happy,” Itsy observed from where he’d been hidden in John’s front pocket out of the way of wandering _leaves_ ….and that felt strange to say even in his head!

“Yeah well I’m glad for them,” John muttered, trying to ignore the lump in his throat. Something about this place felt familiar in a way that his uncle’s house never had and every time he blinked a new set of images slid across his old memory.

The scar on his lip had been from when he’d fallen off his uncle’s porch but now there was something in his head that told him he’d gotten that scar falling from a tree while he watched his mother plant her flowers.

_Mary, Mary, quite contrary_

John shook his head as the melody flowed from his throat bolstered by the memory that wasn’t his own…couldn’t have been his own. His mother had died when he was a toddler, there was no way he could have remember her.

Another image flashed before his eyes and John stumbled, only held up by the vines that had tightened around his arms.

Where there had been a memory of his uncle showing him to mend his bike, John could see himself crouched in a garden with flowers as tall as he was. A woman had his hand in hers and she pressed them both to the dirt.

“Like this, John. You may forget but the land never will,” she whispered as she slid their entwined fingers into the cold soil and when they removed their hands a small cluster of plants burst to life stretching upwards as if the leaves and vines of the little plants were trying to reach them.

_How does your garden grow?_

John pressed his hand to the tree trunk as he panted, he could feel Itsy on his shoulder again and the imp was saying something to him but John couldn’t hear a word over the pounding of his own heart.

A cool, rough sensation against his palm made John glance down just in time to see another vine curling around his hand but when he yanked it away from the tree, he was shocked to see that the vine didn’t seem to be coming from the plant, like he’d thought.

His palm had turned brittle, almost like wood and the vine was slithering from beneath his skin, growing as it went.

John didn’t even stop to think, he grabbed the thing with his other hand ignoring the way that he was swaying unsteadily as he yanked at it. The vine was thicker at its base and as it tore away from his skin John had to grit his teeth to bite back the scream that was trying to claw its way from his throat.

Itsy’s words were louder and more panicked now but John was focused on getting the fucking thing out of him!

With a sound like the rending of flesh the vine snapped and John tossed it to the ground, stumbling away from where it was wriggling like a worm. Glancing back at his hand he gaped because the skin where the vine had been mere seconds ago was unbroken without a single sign to show for what had just happened.

Movement on the ground had his eyes flickering back to where the vine had finally stopped its thrashing and John gagged when he realised that the redness around the exposed section of the plant wasn’t just bark but blood. The realization was all his mind could take and John found himself sinking to the ground as his knees buckled beneath him.

“John! John, no sleep here.”

Itsy’s voice finally shattered the daze that John had settled into as the imp tugged at his hair and John twisted his head so he could meet the creature’s eyes. Itsy had left his pocket and was now standing on John’s shoulder once more, his expression frantic as he tugged at John’s clothes and hair.

“No sleep here!” he demanded and John nodded, trying to push himself back to his feet but the melody in his head grew louder and louder, like a tidal wave beating against his mind and John’s movement was sluggish as he tried to roll onto his hands and knees.

_With silverbells,_

John’s breath hitched as vines clambered across his skin, twisting and writing while they curled around his wrists. He blinked furiously trying to clear his gaze but it wasn’t helping, his entire body felt too heavy to move and John couldn’t remember why he was trying to move until Itsy started yanking at him again.

_And cockleshells,_

The vines were beneath his clothes now, slithering up his body until his chest felt like it would collapse beneath their weight and John gasped, his hands scrabbling at the vines that were twisting their way up towards his face. He choked as one of them darted into his mouth followed by another and another.

_And pretty maids all in a row._

John’s vision darkened as more vines slid across his eyes binding them shut as they anchored him to the ground and his body convulsed beneath the onslaught one last time before going still.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nuada kept his steps light as he made his way further into the forest, using the shadows that the leaves cast as a camouflage. The silence pressed in on him from all sides and he had to concentrate to keep his mind from slipping back into his memories of before. Once upon a time this place had brimmed with life; elves, elementals, imps and trolls had once called these lands their home but now there was nothing but death and silence.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *shakes fist at muse* I'm going to finish this fic this year...I mean I'm gonna try!

Nuada paused at the edge of the forest that guarded the elementals’ final resting place. The trees that protected the Grove were restless, branches swaying despite the lack of wind and the prince frowned as he stepped closer, laying a hand against the trunk of the closest tree.

The sharp spike of terror that tore through him made him yank his hand away, his eyes narrowing as he glanced around.

There was no one in sight but something had disturbed the spirits that called the forest their home and he would need to find out what it was if he wanted to get to the Grove and find his seedling.

Touching the tree once more he projected a sense of tranquillity through the thick wooden barrier. A soft smile curled his lips when the tree’s frantic motions slowed as it spread news of his presence to its closest brethren.

One by one the trees calmed, shifting out of his way as they opened up a path that he was certain would lead to whatever had caused them distress.

With a quick whisper of thanks, Nuada stepped into the forest, ignoring the shuffling sounds that rose behind him as the trees closed the path in his wake.

Nuada kept his steps light as he made his way further into the forest, using the shadows that the leaves cast as a camouflage. The silence pressed in on him from all sides and he had to concentrate to keep his mind from slipping back into his memories of before. Once upon a time this place had brimmed with life; elves, elementals, imps and trolls had once called these lands their home but now there was nothing but death and silence.

Nuada shook his head as he refocused on the path before him, pulling his mind from those memories because all they did was cause him even more pain.

He’d failed the elementals, perhaps if he’d stayed by their side instead of fighting for his father they would have survived but he’d done what he thought was right and now he had only a graveyard and two children of a dying race as thanks for his dedication.

A panicked voice from up ahead broke across his thoughts and Nuada froze, his eyes narrowing as he focused on the sound.

“John! No sleep, no sleep!”

Nuada cocked his head, taking a step closer to the place where the voice was coming from. The dialect and pitch sounded like an imp but all the imps had been moved centuries ago. Nothing living remained in this place. Nothing except his seedling, a little voice whispered in his head and Nuada conceded the point. If the seed had managed to hide away here then it was possible that an imp had done so as well.

Stepping around another tree Nuada stilled, his fingers reaching for the hilt of his sword as he took in the scene before him.

A human lay on the forest floor, his body almost completely covered in vines and the only part of him that remained visible was his clothing.

Nuada’s fingers tightened around the sword’s hilt as his mind truly processed what his eyes were seeing. A human was in his forest! How had the vile creature managed to find its way here?!

He must have made a sound because the imp that had been perched on the human’s chest turned to him, his face damp with the tears that still glimmered in his eyes.

“Help John,” the creature entreated, hands clasped together as if in prayer and Nuada barely resisted the urge to growl because it would only scare the imp. There was no chance of him helping the human, not when the man’s kind was the very reason why the forest existed in the state it was in. He’d gladly watch him rot before lifting a single finger but the imp didn’t need to hear that.

Removing his hand from his sword Nuada let it slip back into its sheath before beckoning to the imp.

“Come away from there, little one. Why are you not with the rest of your people?”

The imp shook its head, tugging at its clothes in agitation. “We run from war but Itsy find seed, Itsy to care for seed but bad seed go in human. Others leave but Itsy wait and seed mother come back, stay here then leave. Promised Itsy to bring seed, name seed John. Itsy say John no sleep, bad spirits make John sleep!” the imp cried, turning its attention back to the man beneath it. “Itsy no wake John, Itsy fail!”

Nuada frowned as he made sense of the imp’s words. “You can’t believe that this man is an elemental seedling?” he inquired softly and the imp nodded.

“Seed mother come back, she too big and she make John come out. Itsy no watch, Itsy scared. Seed mother she sick, bring John to human. Promise Itsy John come back.”

Nuada’s eyes flickered from the still sobbing imp to the man. At first glance the human had appeared dead.  But now that Nuada was focused on him he could see the minute movement of the man’s chest that meant that he was still breathing, a feat that should have been impossible because Nuada could see the vines that had somehow made their way into the man’s nose and mouth. He should have choked to death…..unless.

The thought was almost impossible to bear. An elemental in the body of a human? It was ludicrous but the imp had no reason to lie.

Gritting his teeth in frustration Nuada stepped closer and crouched beside the human’s body. He knew it wasn’t possible but the imp had seen the seedling and it could help Nuada find it. All he had to do was indulge its insane fantasy.

Pressing a hand to the man’s chest Nuada reached out mentally. Expecting to run into the same block that he’d found on every other human, he gasped when the man’s mind lashed out, as quick as a snake, grasping the connection as he pulled Nuada into his own mind and the elf prince could do nothing but follow.

The man’s mind was like a maze made of mirrors, each surface showing a conflicting set of memories and Nuada found himself caught between two such contradictions. In one mirror a small boy sat alone on the porch an unfamiliar house, a single flower in his hand. A gust of wind yanked at the petals and the little boy opened his hand letting the flower blow away.

Nuada snorted at the image. Humans often tore flowers from the earth for no reason other than to satisfy their boredom, only to abandon the plants once they were no longer amused with their trinket.

In the other mirror the same boy sat in the lap of a pale woman, holding the exact replica of the first flower in his tiny hands but this time Nuada’s eyes widened slightly when he realised that the flower’s stem seemed to be growing out of the boy’s hand. As if the plant itself was a part of the child.

The woman whispered something to the little boy and Nuada watched as the flower shrunk, growing in reverse until it was nothing but a bud on a stem and then the bud became only a vine and the vine slithered back beneath the boy’s skin.

By all that was holy, the imp had been right! No human had the ability to control plants with such ease, especially not at such a tender age.

Nuada’s eyes flickered to the woman’s face and he winced at the sight. The skin of her face was deformed, human skin warped by the vines that seemed to be trying to take over her form but when the little boy stretched up to lay a kiss on her nose, the smile that she graced him with told Nuada that she’d once possessed exceptional beauty….at least for a human.

Turning from the scene Nuada sighed. He had seen all he needed to see and with the thought in mind he gently untangled the grip that the man….his seedling’s mind had on his own, forcing himself to wake and pulling the young man’s consciousness with him as he did so.

\----------------------

John gasped awake, his throat felt sore and he wasn’t sure where the hell he was now.

“John awake!”

Itsy’s excitable voice made John sigh as he forced himself upright into a sitting position, taking care to move slowly so that Itsy could clamber back into his pocket where the imp pressed itself against John in an embrace that made him smile softly. He remembered where he was now, in the forest that led to the Grove but that didn’t explain what the hell had happened.

“It would seem that you have the unique ability to hide…even from yourself.”

John’s eyes darted towards the new voice and he gaped at the man standing before him.

The person before him was ethereal. Pale white hair swept past the man’s shoulders, stark against the black of his clothing and the delicate lines of his face were only accentuated by the sharp shape of his ears. If John had to guess he would think that the man was an elf but the dark shadows lingering around his eyes and the shade of his lips made John falter in his theory. The pictures of elves that he’d seen had always been welcoming in a way that this man was not and yet John couldn’t drag his eyes away from him.

The man held himself with a poise that all but screamed royalty and though John wasn’t sure what he was, he was fairly certain that this was the Prince who Itsy had been talking about.

Shoving himself to his feet, John pressed a hand against his shirt pocket to keep Itsy from tumbling out. His knees felt weak and for a moment he swayed as he tried to catch his balance only to feel the vines curling around his feet and shoulders, bolstering him until he was steady on his own two feet before slipping away.

When John caught the prince watching the vines retreat, he chuckled bitterly, rubbing a hand against his chest where he could still feel the weight of the things. “That keeps happening,” he started gesturing to the plants but the Prince just inclined his head.

“The spirits are pleased that one of their own has returned here though they might have been overenthusiastic in their welcome,” the prince told him.

John frowned. “I…..this place,” he started, rubbing at his temples. “I know this place but I don’t know how. I’ve never been here but it feels like home and now I’m rambling on to a complete stranger,” he finished ruefully.

“Nuada, no stranger. Nuada, prince!” Itsy piped up and the Prince’s lips curled into a slow smile that made something warm shift in John’s chest.

“Thank you, Itsy but it is my fault that the young one remains unaware of my identity.” The prince told Itsy before turning his attention to John and the agent found himself falling back into a parade rest as the prince straightened to his full height. “My name is Prince Nuada Silverlance and I was once the emissary of your people. Now I guard what is left of your race.”

“My people are very much alive and well there are billions of them all around the world and they really don’t need guarding,” John replied quickly because a new set of memories and a few touchy feely plants didn’t make him anything other than human. “But it’s nice to meet you, your highness…should I address you as your highness?”

“You still believe yourself to be human?” Nuada mused, head cocked to the side like a dog that had heard an interesting sound, as he eyed John. “It is a foolish belief to cling to. Humans are the reason why this land is nothing more than a grave and despite your outwards appearance you know that you are not one of them,” Nuada continued. **_“You can feel it, can you not, the song of the trees and the earth around you? No human can comprehend what it truly means to be connected to the land, not in the way that out people do.”_**

The prince’s voice curled in John’s mind like a cat and John took a stumbling step back. “Look I don’t know how you did that but I’d be really happy if you didn’t try it again. I’m human and right now all I really want from you is a way out of here.”

The prince hummed beneath his breath but didn’t respond; instead he brushed past John, striding further into the forest, leaving the agent no option but to follow.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nuada was different from the other beings John had dealt with. He seemed to lack Red’s immaturity or Abe’s naivety, instead the elf was grounded by his hatred of humans, if his words were anything to go by and yet he hadn’t attacked John, hadn’t caused him any harm. A niggling part of his mind reminded him that Nuada probably hadn’t gone after him because he believed that John was this elemental creature that Itsy claimed but John paid it little mind. Someone as seemingly cultured and civilized as the prince couldn’t be all bad?

John hurried after Nuada as the man, elf John was pretty sure the man was an elf creepy markings or not, led him deeper into the forest. Itsy was silent as he peered out of John’s pocket and he couldn’t fault the imp because the air here felt heavy in a way that meant _danger, stay away_ but John forced himself to keep up with Nuada’s long strides. The vines had stopped reaching for him and the trees were still, like trees were meant to be but their lack of movement had cold shivers racing up his spine because there was a part of his mind that was screaming at him that something was wrong….this place was wrong.

John pushed the thoughts aside, focusing instead on the prince in front of him. Nuada moved with a deadly grace that spoke of someone who had seen more than one battle and walked out relatively unscathed. Even without a sword at his side and the dark armour that he wore John probably would have guessed that the prince was a warrior. It hung in the air around him, a sense of wildness barely tempered by the civilized front that the elf presented.

Nuada was different from the other beings John had dealt with. He seemed to lack Red’s immaturity or Abe’s naivety, instead the elf was grounded by his hatred of humans, if his words were anything to go by and yet he hadn’t attacked John, hadn’t caused him any harm. A niggling part of his mind reminded him that Nuada probably hadn’t gone after him because he believed that John was this elemental creature that Itsy claimed but John paid it little mind. Someone as seemingly cultured and civilized as the prince couldn’t be all bad?

Up ahead Nuada paused and John slowed his own pace as he stared at the trees in front of him.

These trees weren’t trees at all and John’s feet felt glued to the ground as a rush of memories slammed into him.

**_Mother didn’t let the seed out of its pouch for years but she thinned the layers of her bark enough for it to see the other seedlings, the ones that were old enough to be planted. The seed pressed close to the barrier and watched as the others sprouted, drenched by the rains, their roots slipping and slithering in the mud as they grew, stretching towards the skies and there in the midst of it all stood the strange elf. This one didn’t come just to ask for a boon, he stayed here long after the other elves retreated and the seed like him the best._ **

John’s breath shuddered from his lungs as he took a step forward, then another and another until he could press his hands to the bark of the tree….no, not a tree, mother. Her skin was blistered and burnt even after so long and he could taste her terror on his tongue. But that wasn’t right he was John T Myers and his mother’s name was Mary. She’d been human through and through, John knew it but the thought wasn’t enough to rid him of the lump in his throat or the wetness on his face as he pressed his forehead to the bark of the creature before him.

**_Mother didn’t speak like the elf prince did so the seed sometimes listened and tried to copy his words. It didn’t work and the seed grew sullen. How could it speak if it was not like the elf? It didn’t simply want to be planted then left to guard the forest, it wanted to go with elf wherever he went….even if it meant leaving mother and the others behind._ **

John hadn’t cried since his uncle’s death but now he couldn’t stop the tears that rolled down his face, unaware that each one that hit the ground sprouted into a flower. The memories, the ones that weren’t his, they were the last ones that the thing…. _he_ had had before the war, he knew it just like he knew that Mary had never been his mother. Just like he knew that all the others were gone, with nothing to mark their existence except the frozen, statues of what they had once been,

His mother would have loved Mary, the woman that he’d chosen to carry him for the centuries it had taken him to grow. She would have loved Mary because Mary had loved John with every inch of her heart even though she’d known that he wasn’t normal….wasn’t even human.

“Death and destruction is all that humans bring, can you not see that?”

Nuada’s somber voice made John turn, taking in the anger etched onto the prince’s face and he could understand that anger, especially now bolstered by the fear that his new memories brought but he couldn’t feel the hatred that Nuada did. Not when the woman that had ensure his survival had been human, as had the man who’d taught him to act well enough to fit in with those around him.

“Every race has its faults,” John breathed, refocusing on what remained of his mother. “But the great thing about humans is their capacity to forgive and move on.”

Nuada snorted in response but said nothing and in the silence that stretched between them John let himself grieve for something that he hadn’t know that he’d lost.

*O*

Nuada allowed the seed to have his moment of silence, the fragile bond that stretched between them thrummed with sorrow and pain, it was the only thing that made Nuada hold his tongue. Even now with the evidence of the atrocities that human could and would commit the child was unmoved, he could feel that much. There was a layer of purity coating the seed’s heart that not even the devastation before him could penetrate.

He reminded Nuada of Nuala….it wasn’t exactly a good thing. Such levels of naivety could only lead to more pain and death. The humans had already shown what they were capable of and Nuada wouldn’t give them the chance to wreak even more havoc.

Shaking himself from his thoughts, Nuada’s eyes flickered from the man’s bowed head to the remains of the race that he’d once called friends. It was time that they left this place because though it was easy to enter the realm, leaving would not be as smooth and the longer they remained here, the longer it would take Nuada to get the first piece of the crown.

“Child,” he called, frowning when the man didn’t move then it occurred to him that despite the seed’s actual age, the human shell it was in was fully grown and it had a name, a name that the imp had used before. “John,” Nuada tried again and this time the man glanced at him, his eyes red despite the lack of tears on his face. “We must leave, now,” Nuada told him, striding through the circle of elementals.

The sounds of slow footsteps told him that John was following, albeit reluctantly but John would have the opportunity to return here after Nuada had raised the Golden Army and cleansed their lands. He would have told the man as much but the less that John knew of his plans the better, for the both of them.

Nuada had observed the human races for centuries and he was aware of the existence of the BPRD. The fact that John wore the uniform that the organization used was enough to tell Nuada that the man wasn’t simply a civilian and he had no doubt that John would try to disrupt his plans. His attempts would be for naught as Nuada had created scenarios for every circumstance and he had allies in place to aid him if he needed it but he would rather not have to cope with an angry elemental child as they tended to be…..highly destructive. The fact that John didn’t show any knowledge of the abilities that he possessed was a blessing but Nuada wasn’t going to depend on John’s lack of knowledge to safeguard his operation.

The sooner he sequestered the man away, the sooner he could return to Mr Wink and obtain the first piece of the crown before it was moved again.

Scanning the land before him Nuada narrowed his eyes as he focused on the hum of magic in the air. This place was sacred and the earth bled its sorrow into the air, an eternal cry for the loss of its first children and Nuada exhaled slowly as the magic washed over him. He heard a small squeak and glanced behind him only to watch the imp vanish back into John’s shirt pocket as the man shivered but when Nuada nodded at him, John held still and let the magic do as it would.

Finally the cool tendrils seemed to melt back into the earth and Nuada took a step forward. In the centre of the clearing, there was a patch of dirt, where no grass grew. The other elves had never figured out the reason for the phenomena and finally they’d simply decided that this was the place where the elemental’s pain and fear had coalesced, sinking into the earth as their spirits fled the shells that kept them bound.

Nuada knew that they were wrong but he’d been so torn with rage and grief that he hadn’t stopped to explain. Instead he had focused on changing his father’s mind, trying to show the king that a treaty would not save the earth, that he’d done nothing more than damn every living thing. Then when the king didn’t listen Nuada had left, taking nothing but his weapons and the seedling despite Nuala’s protests.

The earth had been scorched by pain and fear but it had not been that of the elementals that stood guard over the place. No, it had been the fear of the seeds that had huddled there, hiding with their kin as the world around them burned.

Even now Nuada could head their screams in his mind. Some of them had been old enough to understand what was happening and they’d tried to protect the others but they were too young, not yet ready to be planted and their abilities weren’t mature despite the maturity of their mind. In the end Nuada had done the only thing he could, when their pain became too much for him. He’d left the battle and gone to them, pulling them all into his own mind and giving them a final glimpse of the beauty that had once been their home as their physical bodies died.

He didn’t remember getting to the Elementals, but the elves that he fought with spoke of the way that he’d become almost feral, tearing into the humans like they were nothing until he got through the barricade of bodies but by then it had been too late.

Turning to John, Nuada met the man’s worried eyes. “I will need to access the magic of this place if we wish to return to your dimension but the process can be somewhat painful,” he informed the man, holding up a hand when John seemed about to interrupt. “This is the only way to return and if we remain here for much longer the magic may choose to not let any of us leave.”

John shook his head in confusion. “But I didn’t feel anything when I came here, other than my headache.”

Nuada smirked as he turned away from the man. “That is because this land will always try to reclaim what it once called its own,” he responded, shooting John one last look. “No matter what happens, do not try to come to my aid and that is an order.”

John’s eyes narrowed but he seemed to understand the seriousness of the situation because instead of arguing he nodded though Nuada could feel his discontent flowing through their connection. He had no doubt that had this been another situation the man would have probably argued with him about that order but the fact that he hadn’t was enough for Nuada…for now.

Kneeling Nuada pressed his palm to the dirt, his lips quirking as he felt the remnants of the seedlings laughter, the last sound they had made as they left the world. He could never explain what it had felt like having to let their spirits leave his body, knowing full well that they were dead. He couldn’t explain and no one had asked so he’d kept the memory closed away in his head as he plotted.

He’d sworn then as he buried the bodies of the seeds, that he’d never be too late, that he would never again let the humans cause such pain and it was a promise that he would die or kill to keep.

Digging his fingers into the soil Nuada reached for the magic that dwelled just beneath surface of the land, calling it forward in an attempt to reopen the portal between the two dimensions. The power slammed into his body hard enough to startle a gasp from his throat and he gritted his teeth as the magic clambered into his head, its touch harsh and ruthless at it tore at his memories.

Once upon a time the magic here had been soothing and gentle, almost maternal in its warmth but now it had been twisted into a dark parody of itself, its only purpose to protect the Grove and punish anyone unworthy. The pain in his head ratcheted higher and Nuada could taste blood where his teeth had sliced his tongue open but the wound was the least of his concern. He had to keep the pain out of his expression or else the seedling would intervene and the Gods alone knew what the magic would do then.

Finally the magic receded and Nuada exhaled slowly, riding out the last waves of pain as the magic slipped from his body.

He rose to his feet, stumbling once while the magic thrummed through the air around them and John was suddenly there, taking his weight like he’d known Nuada for years and not just mere moments.

He could feel the man staring at him but Nuada kept his gaze fixed straight ahead, his eyes following the almost invisible threads of energy that were twining together in front of them. Thankfully the magic reached its threshold point and the portal burst to life before John could ask him anything. Nuada had answers that the man would need to know but for now he wanted to recover his energy before he confronted the seedling with the truth about the race that it was masquerading as.

“We should go now before it closes again,” he commanded, pulling away from John and gesturing for the young man to precede him.

John stared at him for a long moment but whatever he saw on Nuada’s face made him nod as he stroked his pocket, prodding the imp out of its hiding space. “Looks like you get to leave with me after all, Itsy,” he murmured and the imp grinned as he reached out to grip John’s finger with his little hands.

“Itsy always with John,” he responded and John nodded again before turning and taking a step through the portal. Between one breath and the next the young man had vanished, leaving just a ripple to mark his presence and Nuada glanced back at the Grove one last time before following.

*O*

John stumbled as he stepped into the portal. The same wave of energy washed over him that had lingered in the clearing and he shivered as the part of him that was something else recognized it as his magic or at least the magic from the creatures that had been his family. Itsy trembled in his pocket and John covered the opening with his hand hoping to shield the imp….from what he wasn’t certain but Itsy pressed his own hands to John’s either in thanks or for comfort.

Something slipped into John’s mind, prodding at his memories of his mother, both Mary and the mother that he’d had before her. John didn’t fight it and soon the sensation faded as John found his feet on solid ground once more.

Blinking he glanced around with a frown, this wasn’t Antarctica, he was sure of it. For one it was too damn warm and the cave they had been in sure as hell hadn’t been next to any train tracks.

There was a fire burning in one corner of the cave, providing light and even more warmth, that had John sweating but he focused on his surroundings instead of his own discomfort. The walls of the cave, that weren’t hidden in shadows, were covered with what appeared to be runes and carvings of the supernatural world. There was a rack of swords and blacksmith’s equipment lying against wall and if that wasn’t enough evidence that someone lived here then the clothing strewn other the small table that rested beside the rack would have been…or the stairs, the stairs should have been the biggest giveaway that this place had been occupied.

The roar of a train passing made Itsy squeak, as it hauled John from his observations, his tremors growing until John’s- pocket was almost vibrating and when the sound died away it was replaced by a low growl that had John reaching for his gun even as he spun on his heel to face the new threat.

The thing that lumbered from the shadows was large, it looked like it was bigger than Red and it sure as hell didn’t look like it was about to give John a friendly hug for invading its territory.

John took a step back as he raised his gun only to slam into something that hadn’t been there a second ago.

“Mr Wink, this is John, he will be keeping us company for a while,”

Nuada’s familiar voice made John relax marginally when the creature before him snorted and took a step back towards its hiding place before the prince’s words truly registered and John spun to face him, taking in Nuada’s wan expression with a surge of guilt. The prince had looked much better before he’d opened the portal and he’d come to the place looking for John…or at least the thing that he’d been before he was John.  

“What? No! Look, thank you for helping me and thanks for letting me see….” he trailed off here, unsure of how to term the Grove but he was pretty sure that Nuada knew what he was talking about so he didn’t even attempt to encompass that place in words. “But I need to get back before those idiots get themselves killed. God only knows what they’ve been doing since I’ve been missing.”

Nuada tilted his head, cocking one brow as he regarded him without saying a word and John fought the urge to shift under the prince’s heavy gaze.

“Unfortunately I am not aware of where you entered the portal which made it impossible for me to return you to the place,” Nuada informed him, not sounding apologetic in the least despite his words and John barely resisted the urge to glare at him because he’d learned quickly that most supernatural beings tended to have some sort of a God complex. The best way to deal with it was to ignore it and John had practice ignoring uptight creatures. He batted away the small part of his mind that reminded him that he _was_ a supernatural creature now…and had been all along as he refocused on Nuada.

“I was in Antarctica, we had an expedition and it was my job….it’s my job to protect the scientists while they research,” he explained and Nuada snorted as he made his way to what looked like a seat carved into the stone of the cavern.

“So you were little more than a guard dog for the humans,” he summarised as he sat, amber eyes fixed in John’s face. “What pride you must have found in such a highly esteemed position.”

John gritted his teeth to hold back the retort that was building on the tip of his tongue. Itsy shifted in his pocket, peeking out at the cave and John focused on the imp as he reined in his temper. “Just tell me where we are and I’ll find my own way back.”

Nuada rested his head on his hand as he watched John. “Currently we are beneath the city that the humans refer to as Manhattan, however this place exists within a pocket of time displaced from that above us and a portal into the human world only opens every other day.”

“And let me guess, today isn’t the other day?” John sighed, ignoring the way his heart was pounding. If he was in Manhattan then he would have to contact this branch of the BPRD, which meant he’d see Liz and Red, like his life couldn’t get any fucking worse!

“John stay with Prince,” Itsy whispered, his tiny voice breaking the silence. “Prince good to John.”

Nuada’s smirk softened at Itsy’s words and it hit John again that the man was gorgeous when he wasn’t intentionally being a stubborn dickhead. Not that John was going to do anything more than look and as soon as he got out of this place, he’d probably never see Nuada again. It was for the best because John didn’t know if he wanted to kiss the prince or punch him…neither of which would end well, especially not when Nuada kept calling him a child as if John wasn’t a fully grown man.

Shaking his head John sighed, keeping an eye on the creature that he could see shifting in the shadows. It looked like he was going to have to put up with Nuada for a little longer whether he liked it or not.

“The imp is correct, you could do much worse than my company,” Nuada assured him, gesturing for John to sit on one of the stone chairs that littered the place and John shrugged as he sagged into a seat.

“Call me old fashioned but it’s kinda hard to be comfortable around someone who would have killed you if you weren’t something else,” John shot back and he regretted the words the moment that they left his lips because Nuada’s expression hardened as he glanced away, erasing the slither of warmth that had been there before.

“If you had seen the atrocities that I have seen you would hate the humans as well,” Nuada informed him before settling back into his seat, his eyes closing, effectively ending the conversation and John sighed.

It was going to be a long twenty four hours.


End file.
